


Blind date

by HTGAWM



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Blind Date, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 13:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HTGAWM/pseuds/HTGAWM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver agreed to go on a blind date and his friends chose a ridiculously hot guy for him. But he's also an asshole. And Connor isn't having any of it. </p><p>Coliver AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blind date

I had no idea why I’d let my friends talk me into this. I felt like an awkward teenager again going on his first date. All the symptoms were there: butterflies, self pep talks, and sweaty palms. My stomach churned, threatening to hurl all the insecurities I thought I’d overcome. I thought that since I’d been at university, I’d grown to accept myself: my dorky/awkward nature, my average features, my sexuality, the list goes on. And I have, but unfortunately I still care way too much about whether or not other people will accept me. _It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It’s just a blind date and if the guy hates you it doesn’t matter._ I’d never been on a blind date before and my friends and I thought it might be a fun thing to do. I honestly hadn’t anticipated my anxiety but I should have. Winning the dating game = physical attractiveness + charm + engagingness + wit + humour + confidence + compatibility. I had none of those qualities. _Lets hope we’re extremely compatible,_ I thought as I locked up my apartment.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I breathed a sigh of relief that on the scale of casual to smart, my outfit was appropriately placed in the middle. The restaurant was packed, but without that atmosphere of stressful urgency that lets down many good restaurants. The pairing of dark ornate woods and deep red walls, along with the cheerful and laidback attitude of its employees created a lively, warm atmosphere that immediately made me feel more at ease. I was extremely grateful for that because I was 10 minutes early and my date hadn’t arrived yet, which was plenty of time for me to work myself to a frenzy. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t find my contacts because I knew my coke-bottle glasses made me look even dorkier than I already did due to my general aura of dorkiness. I was thinking about why I hadn’t opted for a different frame when a voice distracted me.

“Waiting for your date?” the waiter asked, giving me a small smile.

I looked over to his nametag, _Connor_ , purely because he was way too good looking for me to be able to form a coherent reply if I was looking at his face.

“Uh yeah, I think I’m a little early,” I smiled back, trying not to think about the fact that he is probably the most handsome guy I’ve ever seen.

“Would you like anything to drink while your waiting?”

My throat felt a little dry as I looked down at the drinks menu, “Um just tap water please.”

“Sure.”

As he walked away, I felt even more insecure. If he was going to be serving us, then there’s no way my date was going to be paying attention to me. That guy was a walking god. _WHERE THE HELL DID I PUT THOSE CONTACTS?_ I silently screamed at myself. _Okay, take a deep breath and stop acting like an insecure teenager,_ I chided.And people generally date people of the same level of attractiveness. Since I’m average, statistically the most probable situation is that my date is about as attractive as me. _So really, everything’s fine_ , I comforted myself. But then my date walked in and destroyed all my assurances. _Shit, he’s ridiculously hot._

“Hi you must be Oliver,” he walked over, giving me a tight smile. _Is he disappointed?_ I wondered.

I stood up to shake his hand, “Yeah and you must Brett,” I tried to give him a friendly smile. His smile warmed a little as sat down. _Maybe he’s just nervous, don’t let your insecurities ruin this for you._

“Sorry if I kept you waiting,” he started.

“Oh no don’t worry, I’ve only been here a couple of minutes and I think I was a little early anyways,’ I assured him.

Connor arrived with the jug of tap water and 2 glasses. I was going to say something about the internship Brett recently got when his eyes raked over Connor’s body in an overtly appreciative manner. Yes, Connor was crazy hot, but that was extremely rude. And I reacted very differently to how I would’ve expected myself to react. I thought I’d feel hurt and insecure and unworthy, but I guess I’d grown up because suddenly, all my nervousness disappeared. I don’t know why I’d approached this date as some sort of test where I could only pass if Brett liked me. I hadn’t really considered the fact that I might not like Brett.

“Would you two like anything else to drink?” Connor asked, pouring out the water, either oblivious to Brett’s unsubtle admiration or ignoring it.

I shook my head and looked over to Brett, who faced Connor with a charming smile, “Oh no thank you.”

Connor gave a slightly uncomfortable smile back as he handed us the starter and main menus.

“So, I heard you got an internship in advertising?” I thought that although he seemed like a tool, I’m willing to make this a pleasant meal at least.

He told me a bit about the company and I congratulated him sincerely because it seemed like a really good opportunity. But when he droned on about the internship and how competitive it was and how he’s practically Einstein for getting it (I guess I’m paraphrasing him a little), I started feeling pretty bored and irritated with his arrogance.

“So, what about you?” He asked, with a look that said, _I doubt you can top that._ I liked him less every minute.

“I’m in the last year of my degree in Computer Science,” I started, and it seemed like he was already losing interest. But when I added something about my part-time job where I’d be working full time after my degree he looked slightly resentful. I couldn’t help feeling a little smug. It was unheard for someone who hadn’t even graduated to work in a company like that, so he must’ve realised that I just beat him in his stupid little competition of who’s the most successful.

“I can’t imagine working in IT, it sounds pretty boring to me,” he looked over at me distastefully. It wasn’t the first time anyone had said that to me, but no one had ever said that in such a purposefully offensive manner. Some friends had teased me about it before but it had always been in a harmless and playful way, or in a way they genuinely wanted to understand how I could find code so interesting. I hadn’t really minded it when they’d said it. Before I could formulate a response, Connor arrived at the table, asking if we were ready to order. Brett’s face transformed as soon as he saw Connor arriving, and he gave him a flirtatious smile.

“Well what would you recommend? You seem like a guy with good taste _.”_ Brett smirked. Connor looked appalled, and I couldn’t help feeling humiliated at the whole situation. 

Considering how rubbish the date was going and we hadn’t even got to ordering the food, I decided I’d had enough.

“Seriously?” I didn’t try to hide the disgust I felt, “I don’t even know why I tried to at least make this a pleasant meal considering you made such a terrible first impression. You’re an asshole.” 

He scoffed, “Please. You’re the lame-ass IT nerd with coke-bottle glasses, and you’re telling me that I made a terrible first impression?”

Suddenly Connor made a move to collect the menus and knocked Brett’s glass down, causing the water to spill onto his lap.

“Oh my god!” Brett stood up, horrified. I burst out laughing; it looked like he’d wet himself.

“Oh no! I’m really very sorry,” Connor apologised a tad melodramatically and pointed to the toilets, “I think there are some hand dryers in the restrooms.”

As Brett scurried away, completely humiliated, Connor looked over at me, smirking. I couldn’t believe it! He gave me a cheeky wink and all I could is gape at him. 

“D-Did you do that on purpose?” I whispered loudly, not wanting him to lose his job or something.

“It was a terrible accident, I’m so sorry, I really hope I didn’t ruin your date,” Connor apologised. His eyes glinted with anything but a shred of regret.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady striding over, probably the manager.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologised to me. She turned to Connor with a menacing glare, “Clean up this mess.”

She turned back to me,  “Hello, I’m the manager of this restaurant, Marren, and I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused from the behalf of my staff. I’ll offer you and your date a main course on the house to compensate.”

“Thank you very much for your kind offer. And don’t worry, me and my date suddenly got into a disagreement, and it was probably just the sudden drama that caused the accident. It’s really not inconvenienced us at all. We were probably going to leave anyways, and if anything it probably stopped getting into a fight in the middle of your restaurant. So consider me grateful.”

Connor returned with a cloth and started wiping the table clean. He mouthed a big, “thank you”.

She looked relieved but not quite convinced, eyeing Connor warily, “I’m glad to hear that.”

It was nice to offer us a free meal but there was really no point because I could not bear to spend another moment with Brett. Just as I thought of him, I saw him marching up to the table, fuming.

“I’m extremely appalled with the service,” he seethed at Connor and the manager.

“Brett, we both know it’s my fault,” and everyone turned to me, surprised, “I don’t know if you saw but I accidently pushed Connor’s arm.”

“Accidently?” he sneered.

Marren interjected, realising it was probably her cue to go, “I apologise again, and please don’t hesitate to talk to me if you have any complaints.” She shot me a grateful look for pinning the blame on myself before leaving with Connor.

“Whatever, I don’t care if you don’t believe me Brett.” I replied.

“You’re such a fucking loser!” he stormed off, leaving me sitting awkwardly at the empty table. I sighed tiredly, running my hand through my hair. This was a terrible idea. I could see the whole restaurant give my pitying glances and it was making me feel sick. I stood up feeling thoroughly mortified although it wasn’t really my fault Brett was a complete asshole. It just annoyed me that I was so easy to make fun of. _Lame-ass IT nerd with coke-bottle glasses._ What would I have said to that if Connor hadn’t spilt the water? I looked around the restaurant and as soon as I spotted him, I walked over to thank him. I hoped he wouldn’t give me pitying looks like the rest of the restaurant was. 

When he saw me he gave me the most breath-taking smile, and I almost stopped right in my tracks because he was just so unbelievably gorgeous. Thankfully I didn’t embarrass myself even further by doing that. But I did forget to breathe for a moment. 

“Thank you for making this ordeal at least bearable,” I smiled shyly at him, self-conscious because it suddenly hit me how attracted I was to him.

He laughed, “I take that as a massive compliment because that jerk was not bearable in the least. Blind date?”

“Yeah it was a terrible idea, I don’t why I agreed to let my friends do a bit of matchmaking.”

“I agree. I’ve been on a couple of blind dates and they were terrible. Friends really shouldn’t be trusted with stuff like this.” 

“I’ve learnt my lesson,” I smiled. I wished I could talk to him for longer but he was working so I got ready to leave. “Anyways I shouldn’t distract you from your work. You’re probably already on your manager’s radar because of me.”

I took a step back and started to turn but Connor called out, “Hey aren’t you going to take advantage of your free main course?” 

“By myself?” I chuckled.

Connor’s lips formed a dangerously sexy smirk, “Well, my shift finishes in like 5 minutes,” he sauntered over, “And I’d love to join you.”

My heart stopped beating. He probably just wanted a free dinner and felt sorry for me, but hell I didn’t even care. “Sounds like a plan.”  

\--------------------------

I went to the men’s room to waste some time while I waited for Connor and couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the prospect of having dinner with him. Maybe this whole thing wasn’t a complete failure after all.

But by the time I returned to the table, I started feeling a little nervous. I saw Connor making his way over, still dressed in his work clothes but he’d taken off the waistcoat and tie, and his hair looked a little different. I tried to stop grinning but I honestly couldn’t. I hadn’t laid my eyes on anyone this sexy before. It wasn’t just his good looks, it was everything about him: his confidence, his charm, the way he walked, his smile, and his charisma.

“You know, I still don’t know your name,” he commented, settling down.

“Oliver,” I told him, biting my lip. I noticed I was fidgeting with the tablecloth so I stopped immediately.

Connor noticed, “Hey are you nervous?”

I looked away from his soft eyes, “No,” I said quickly, and unconvincingly, “I’m fine I just – I don’t know really. It’s not even like it’s a proper date,” I laughed nervously. _What the hell Oliver?_ I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks now and I kicked myself for being so awkward.

Connor smiled indulgingly, “Well a date is just two people getting to know each other, and that is what we’re doing. I hope it’s not because of that asshole though, because trust me I’m nothing like him.” 

I shook my head, “No, I wish it was because of him but I’m always like this.”

Connor looked a little surprised. “Really? You didn’t seem shy with that jerk. You didn’t take any of his bullshit,” he said admiringly.

“Well he was clearly way more interested in you from the moment you came in. Not that I blame him,” I added unwittingly, “But he was so overt about it in front of me, and I found it really rude so I didn’t really care what he thought of me after that. I knew I wouldn’t want to see him again, so there wasn’t anything to be nervous about.”

“Oh okay, so the moment you stop becoming nervous, its bad news and you don’t want to see me again?” he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly. _There’s a chance he wants to see me again?_

“Either that or you’ve managed to make me feel comfortable enough to be myself, which would mean I would really want to see you again. So you never know.”

Connor laughed, “Hmm, you’re going to keep me guessing then?” But then after a second he added, “Although I get the feeling you’re not the type to play games. You seem pretty upfront.”

I thought for a second before replying, “Even if I wanted to play games with someone I probably couldn’t,” I admitted, “I’m pretty easy to read because I’m quite expressive in body language, and I say what I think, sometimes without even meaning to.”

I wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking, but Connor seemed to be looking at me with a sense of wonder, and it was making me feel heady. “It’s refreshing to know not everyone is selfish and manipulative,” he said.

His pessimistic perspective startled me, but before I could say anything, he added, “I’m a first year law student so my view of the world can be a little morbid sometimes. I’m not exactly an optimist.”

“Understandable. I’d like to call myself an optimist but naïve is probably the best way to describe it,” I confessed.

Connor regarded me thoughtfully. “It’s probably a good thing. Apparently people who have the most realistic view of the world are mildly depressed.”

 “Wow really? Huh, ignorance really is bliss.”

A waitress arrived to ask us if we’d decided what to order and she was a little surprised to see Connor as a customer. We hadn’t even looked at the menu yet so she said she come back a little later. 

We started discussing what to order and he gave me a few recommendations since he’d basically tried everything on the menu. The conversation flowed so easily with Connor, I’d never been able to talk so effortlessly to someone who was practically a stranger. Especially a stranger I’m attracted to. _He’s going to be an excellent lawyer_. After we’d ordered our mains, we literally just talked about food until it arrived: what cuisines we liked, favourite dishes, our experiences in cooking and some other random stuff. Connor laughed so hard when I told him about when I accidently set the oven on fire. I was 16 and I really wanted this new video game but I knew my mum wouldn’t give it to me if knew I’d been irresponsible enough to leave the oven on for 2 hours too long. So I pretended that that I couldn’t see the fire. And told her she was seeing things.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Connor asked between laughs.

“I don’t even know. I think I just panicked and just thought it would be easier to pretend that she was just imagining a fire.” I paused because I was laughing too much, “I think she was more worried about the fact that I couldn’t see the fire than she was about the fire. I just told her that the oven has been turned off for a long time, because really it should have been, so it’s impossible for a fire to be in there. She was going to open the door to show me but I said that if there was an actual fire it would spread as soon as she opened the door. So she told me to keep it shut but luckily she was getting late for work so she had to go.”

“So what happened?”

“After she went I waited until the fire stopped, I opened all the windows, I opened the oven and cleaned out all the soot so when she got back everything was clean. And we both just pretended that the whole incident never happened until I got my video game. And then I told her. She was pretty relieved actually to know neither of us was insane, but also, understandably, pretty angry with me.”

And so it went on, us just chatting away about completely random things and I was having a really good time. Never for a second I felt I was too boring or awkward. I’d say that we seemed to really click but I wasn’t sure if that was just because Connor was so charismatic that anyone could just talk to him for hours. I was hoping it was a bit of both.

“Thank you so much for saving my ass when Brett came round. My manger wouldn’t have been happy if he complained about the service,” Connor said between bites.

“I can’t believe you did that,” I said, a still little awed.

“It was totally worth it,” Connor smirked, “I just couldn’t believe he said that to you. I wanted to punch his face so badly. Didn’t you?”

“Honestly, I don’t even think I’d really comprehended what he’d said by the time you knocked the glass over.” I answered truthfully.

“I’m glad. What did he say to you when he left?”

I shied away from his gaze, and tried to look captivated by my pasta, cheeks burning from embarrassment, “Umm I think he said something like ‘you’re such a fucking loser’ or something,"

Connor chuckled darkly, “Says the guy throwing a massive hissy fit because he just got rejected. What a dick.”

I knew I shouldn’t care but it made me feel a bit shitty thinking about Brett again. I took a few sips of water to compose myself. After I’d set the glass down, I felt Connor’s hand cover my own. I looked up to him, surprised and warmed by the gesture.

“I really hope you didn’t give any consideration to what that jerk said,” he said, concerned.

 _If you keep looking at me like that I’ll never care about what anyone ever says._ “I know its nothing to do with me. He’s clearly got some issues. If putting me down makes him feel better about himself, his self-worth must be practically non-existent.”

Connor smiled. Somehow, I remembered to breathe. Not that his smile was any less stunning this time. I was pretty proud of myself until I realised I’d been staring at Connor’s lips. And I’d also licked my own lips while staring at his. I quickly looked up to meet his gaze, feeling a blush rising, only to find his eyes dropping to my lips. When he looked up again, the smouldering heat in his eyes made me want to rip off my clothes there and then.

“Are you two done?” The waitress asked. I hadn’t even noticed her arriving.

We both snapped out of our trance immediately and looked at our empty plates. Connor spoke first, “Uh yeah, we-we’re done.” 

I’d only met him today but from what I’d learnt, it was extremely unlike him to stutter. I bit my lip to hide my smile. The waitress was really enjoying his momentary awkwardness. 

“Connor I promise you can hold your date’s hand again as soon as I clear the plates, so please could you move your hand, honestly I swear it’s just going to take me 3 seconds,” she teased.

Connor took his hand off mine immediately, but it didn’t take him long to regain his composure. If he was embarrassed, he didn’t show it. He placed his hand back on mine as soon as the plates were cleared and smirked, “Actually, Michaela, that was 5 seconds,” he shook his head in mock disappointment. My heart was racing and all he’d done was touch my hand. 

“God I’m so sorry Connor,” Michaela said, rolling her eyes with a smile, “Do you guys want the dessert menu?”

Connor looked at me questioningly and I gave a little shrug to show I didn’t mind.

“No thank you,” he replied, “Could we have the bill please?”

“Connor, your manager said it’s paid for,” I reminded him.

“For you, yeah, but I still need to pay.”

“Well she said she’d offer me AND my date a main course on the house. And well, you’re my date now,” I explained.

“Well she was talking about that douchebag so I really don’t think she’d let me get away with that, especially considering I’m the reason she offered you the meal on the house.”

“Yeah,” agreed Michaela, “you’re definitely going to have to pay. I’ll get the bill.”

I thought a contributing factor in Connor joining me for dinner had been that it was paid for but clearly not. But I didn’t feel entirely comfortable for him to be the only one paying.

“How about we split the cost?” I offered.

“Oliver, don’t worry about it honestly. I’m generally all for splitting the cost but this is different because I’m only paying for my own meal. Staff get a pretty decent discount as well.” 

“Yeah but you’re the reason I got the free meal so it only seems fair. Come on Connor, please. I don’t feel comfortable that you’re the only one paying.” I pleaded.

“Well it’s always a good idea to step out of your comfort zone a little.” He grinned at me.

I just gave him an unimpressed look, despite the fact that every time he smiled my heart jumped. I slipped my hand out under Connor’s to take out my wallet. 

“You’re not paying,” he stated simply.

When the bill arrived, both of us grabbed the bill it at the same time.

“Oliver it really doesn’t make any sense for you to pay for my meal,” Connor argued. Seductively, he added, “And if you really feel like you owe me, just say yes to a second date and consider your debt paid.”

I gulped; I could literally hear my heart beating. “Yes,” I said a little breathlessly.

He smirked and before I’d even had time to notice, he’d already paid the bill.

“That’s not fair,” I blurted when I realised what he’d done.

He raised his eyebrows innocently, “What?” 

 _You practically hypnotised me with your come-hither eyes!_ I screamed in my head.

“I agreed to a second date, not for you to pay the bill,” I argued.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t make that very clear,” he countered smugly.

I just shook my head in exasperation, wanting to look angry, but ended up smiling at him. He was one of those people who could charm their way out of anything, and I was in awe of it. I couldn’t believe he was sitting here opposite me when he could probably have absolutely anyone he wanted. 

“I’m just gonna go grab my stuff from inside. Did you drive here?” He asked.

“No I walked, I live like 15 minutes away.”

“Well I drove here so I can drop you back?” He offered. 

“Thanks! That’d be great.” 

We arrived at my house way too soon, and I felt disappointed that this incredible night had to come to an end.  

“Hey, I had really good time tonight. I had the worst date ever at the start, but it ended it with one of the best I’ve had,” I told him, sincerely.

“One of the best?” Connor beamed, “You know I’ve never been on like a proper date before.”

“What?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah,” he scratched the back of his neck a little shyly, “I don’t really do dating, and boyfriends and all that.” His shyness disappeared as looked at me with a soft smile and said sincerely, “I mean, I’d never really seen the appeal of the whole thing until now.”

I know I regularly blushed more often than I’d like to, but I swear I’d never blushed so much in a couple of hours.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your door,” he said, moving out of the car.

I stood up, still in a daze and opened the door to the block of apartments, “For someone who’s never been on a date, you really seem to know what you’re doing.”

Connor smirked in response, “Most of the time when people seem to know what they’re doing, they’re just kidding themselves. It’s all an act really.”

We started climbing the stairs up to my apartment. “You’re saying your confidence is an act?” I asked curiously.

“I said most people, not necessarily me,” he grinned, “Do you think it’s an act?” 

We’d reached the top of the stairs, so I led him down the hallway.

“I don’t know. All I know is I can’t imagine being able to put up such a good façade. I already told you, I’m an open book.” I turned to face him as I reached my door.

He moved closer to me, his eyes flickering to my lips. I felt intoxicated by the desire evident in his deep brown irises. My heart rate escalated as his fingertips grazed my jaw. I leaned in and he caught my lips with his own, moving gently but sensually. He pulled away, but I didn’t want to let go. I kissed him again, my fingers getting lost in his hair, and deepened the kiss.

I finally pulled away. I didn’t generally invite people over on the first date but for the first time I had to think about it. I wanted Connor, but I knew I’d be more comfortable if I waited a bit, so I decided to leave it at that. We just exchanged numbers and made plans for our second date.

“Goodnight Connor,” I said as I unlocked my apartment.

Connor seemed a little disappointed for a second; maybe he was expecting me to invite him in. But all my thoughts disappeared when he gave me an affectionate smile, “Goodnight Oliver. See you next week.”

I entered my apartment with the biggest smile on my face. I had to thank my friends and I had to thank Brett, because they’d unknowingly led me to a man who seemed to be made of dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first coliver fanfic so please feel free to leave some critique in comments :)


End file.
